Who was Michael Gagnon?
American special effects technician and truck driver Michael Gagnon, was born under the zodiac sign Cancer on 23 June 1972 in Boston, Massachusetts USA. He worked on 33 movies and TV series, and attracted a lot of attention when the 2022 musical comedy movie “Spirited” paid a tribute to him during its ending credits; the film was written and directed by Sean Anders, starred Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrell, and follows a miserly misanthrope who’s been taken on a magical journey. The movie was nominated for eight awards.
Michael was 49 when he died during the shooting of “Spirited” on 22 September 2021; the cause of his death remains undisclosed, but it’s widely believed that it was from a heart attack.
Education and early life
Michael was raised in Boston alongside his brothers Brian and Paul Jr, by their mother Elizabeth (nee Schiavoni) and father Paul; Michael rarely talked about his family in public because he respected their privacy, and thus not many details about them have been disclosed.
He studied at a local high school in Boston, and was mostly into sports while there, as he played soccer, basketball and baseball, as well as ran track and did gymnastics. Michael had a plan to pursue a career as an athlete, but an injury forced him to consider other options.
He matriculated in 1990, and although Michael never spoke about his further education, some of his fans believe that he attended college, from which he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in 1994; he worked various jobs for the following six years, prior to joining the film industry.
TV series work
It was in 2000 that Michael launched his career in the movie industry, working as a special effects technician on three episodes of the popular action fantasy adventure “Relic Hunter”, created by Gil Grant, and which starred Lindy Booth, Christien Anholt and Tia Carrere. It follows university professor Sydney Fox who spends her spare time searching for lost and stolen artifacts, and the series was nominated for four awards.
In 2007, Michael worked on the episode “Pass the Buck” of the comedy “The Smart Woman Survival Guide”, and the same year saw him work on all four episodes of the documentary mini-series “Mob Stories II”, which starred Antonio Nicaso, Marvin Elkind and Nick Mancuso, and follows the lives of members of the real mafia; the mini-series was nominated for a 2008 Gemini Award for Best Production Design or Art Direction in a Non-Fiction Program or Series.
From 2007 through 2009, Michael worked as a special effects technician on 12 episodes of the hit romantic drama “Degrassi: The Next Generation”, which Yan Moore and Kit Hood created in 2001, and which starred Melinda Shankar, Aislinn Paul and Stefan Brogren. It follows a group of children attending Degrassi Community School, the series aired until 2015 and won 43 of the 143 awards for which it was nominated.
The year 2009 saw Michael work on the crime mystery mini-series “Everything She Ever Wanted” and the crime action “Flashpoint”, and in 2011 and 2012, he was special effects co-ordinator on 13 episodes of the popular family action comedy “My Babysitter’s a Vampire”, created by Tom McGillis and Jennifer Pertsch, and which starred Matthew Knight, Atticus Mitchell and Vanessa Morgan. It follows Ethan, his vampire babysitter and Ethan’s friends as they’re fighting off nightmare creatures, and the series won three of its six award nominations.
Michael’s final work on a TV series was on all six episodes of the 2012 action crime comedy mini-series “Bullet in the Face”.
Film work
Michael’s film debut was as a key special effects technician on the 2000 action fantasy “Left Behind: The Movie”, directed by Vic Sarin, and which starred Janaya Stephens, Brad Johnson and Kirk Cameron. It follows the start of Armageddon on Earth, and the film was nominated for three awards.
Michael could then have been seen working on the crime mystery “Narc”, the thriller “The Circle” and the horror mystery thriller “My Little Eye”, all released in 2002. The following year saw him work as a special effects co-ordinator on the science fiction “Do or Die”, written and directed by David Jackson, and which starred Shawn Doyle, Polly Shannon and Nigel Bennett; it follows a virus which causes people to age rapidly.
“Spirited” Pays Tribute To Actor Michael Gagnon In Memory https://t.co/8zA3ZJLA3e
— Micheal Soriano (@Soriano310ms) November 25, 2022
Some of Michael’s notable work in the remainder of the 2000s was on the 2008 biographical sports drama “Victor”, the 2008 fantasy comedy “Camille” and the 2009 musical comedy “Degrassi Goes Hollywood”.
In 2012, he was the special effects supervisor on the crime action “Jesse Stone: Benefit of the Doubt”, directed by Robert Harmon, and which starred Tom Selleck and Kathy Baker. It follows the work of police chief Jesse Stone, and the film was nominated for two awards.
Some of the last movies which Michael worked on were the 2015 drama “Every Thing Will Be Fine”, the 2017 crime action thriller “John Wick: Chapter 2” and the 2017 action crime comedy “Bon Cop Bad Cop 2”.
Love life and marriage
Michael rarely spoke about his love life in public but it’s known that he was married to American non-celebrity Melanie Guarino; it’s widely believed that Michael and Melanie exchanged vows in either the second half of the ‘90s or the first half of the 2000s, but this remains unconfirmed. Melanie prefers to stay away from media, but it’s believed that she’s a high school professor.
The two have four children together: Christopher, Amanda, Katia and Danielle, and they also have five grandchildren: Logan, Liam, Lucas, Zoe and Caroline. Michael was close to his children, and they were often been seen spending time together in public.
We don’t know about other women whom Michael had perhaps been with; he was married to Melanie Guarino at the time of his death, and they had four children together.
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Net worth, height and age
Michael would’ve been 51 today. His hair and eyes were brown, he was 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall and weighed around 155lbs (70kgs).
Michael’s net worth at the time of his death was estimated at $17 million, given his involvement in so many productions.
